1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device installed in a document reading apparatus for conveying a document. More particularly, the present invention relates to a document conveying device including an outlet roller pair configured to nip the trailing edge of a document read and being discharged for thereby preventing the document from dropping.
2. Description of the Background Art
A copier, scanner or similar image reading apparatus of the type conveying documents of relatively large sizes includes a document conveying device. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. 4-75956 and 10-93760, for example, disclose a document conveying device capable of preventing a document read from dropping when it is driven out of the apparatus. For this purpose, the document conveying device stops driving an outlet roller pair when an outlet sensor senses the trailing edge of the document being discharged. As a result, the outlet roller pair stops rotating while nipping the trailing edge of the document.
The above conventional document conveying device has the following problem left unsolved. Assume that the operator of the apparatus inserts a document without pulling out the document Sxe2x80x2 nipped by the outlet roller pair. Then, the outlet roller pair rotates and releases the document and therefore causes it to drop.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a document conveying device capable of preventing a document being discharged from dropping and enhancing drivability.